The present invention relates to an automatic opening-and-closing device applied, for example, as an electric sliding door of a vehicle or the like.
In a vehicle such as a caravan, a van, a recreational vehicle or the like, a so-called sliding door is sometimes adopted, in which a door panel is slid for opening/closing along the forward and backward direction of the vehicle. Some of these sliding doors are automatic sliding doors wherein the opening/closing operation (that is, sliding of the door panel) is automated by means of a driving force of driving means such as a motor or the like, and for example, a driver can open or close the rear seat door panel while sitting on a driver""s seat.
Incidentally, with a conventional automatic sliding door device, when sliding speed of the door panel decreases due to a foreign object caught in a door panel while closing the door panel, the foreign object caught therein has been detected by detecting overload acting on a motor. That is to say, catching of a foreign object has conventionally been detectable by means of a change in engine speed of the motor corresponding to a change in the sliding speed of the door panel.
Generally, however, if somebody tries to slide a door panel that is in a stopped state or to stop the door panel during sliding, since the door panel tries to maintain its state (that is, the stopped state if it is in a stopped state, or the sliding state if it is in the middle of sliding) due to inertia based on its own weight, overload acts on the motor. Therefore, it is not possible to detect that a foreign object is caught just after starting sliding (that is, just after starting to drive the motor or during acceleration of the driving speed), or just before stopping sliding (that is, during deceleration of the driving speed of the motor or just before stopping driving), and normally, in a state of just after starting sliding or just before stopping sliding, a mask processing is effected in which even if overload acting on the motor is detected, it is not judged that a foreign object is caught. Hence, if a thin foreign object or a foreign object having an overall small size is caught in the door panel just before being completely closed, for example, the detection of this caught foreign object is very difficult.
Moreover, in a state in which a vehicle inclines forward or backward, as for the door panel, a component of the sliding speed is separated into a horizontal direction and a vertical direction, and the component in the vertical direction of the sliding speed is, needless to say, affected by the influence of gravity. Therefore, for example, in lower-front state where a front portion of the vehicle is lower than a rear portion of the vehicle, gravity tends to pull the door panel forward, hence if someone tries to close the door panel in this state, the sliding speed of the door panel is accelerated. On the contrary, in a lower-rear state where the front portion of the vehicle is higher than the rear portion of the vehicle, gravity tends to pull the door panel backward, hence if someone tries to close the door panel in this state, the sliding speed of the door panel is decelerated. Therefore, in such states, there is a possibility that though a foreign object is not caught, overload acts on the motor, and it is erroneously detected as a caught state, or that though a foreign object is caught, overload is not caused and catching of a foreign object is not detected. Thus, it is required to provide correction means for correcting the influence of gravity depending upon the slanting state of the vehicle, resulting in cost increase.
In view of the above situation, it is an object of the present invention to obtain an automatic opening-and-closing device which can prevent a foreign object from becoming caught, by detecting a foreign object, even when the opening/closing speed of a moving body such as a door panel or the like changes, or even when a foreign object is small.
To attain the above object, an automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 1 comprises: a moving body which moves for opening/closing substantially horizontally by means of a driving force from driving means; a pressure sensitive sensor provided along the vertical direction on a moving direction side end portion of the moving body, for detecting a pressure in the direction opposite to the moving direction; control means for controlling drive of the driving means in a state in which the pressure sensitive sensor detects the pressure in the direction opposite to the moving direction; and connection means connected to a lower end portion of the pressure sensitive sensor for connecting the pressure sensitive sensor to the control means.
The present invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that in the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 1, the connection means is passed through the inside of the moving body, and is connected to a lower end portion of the pressure sensitive sensor, passing through a through hole formed towards a lower end of a moving direction side end portion of the moving body.
The present invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that in the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 2, the moving body is provided with a window glass, and the lower end portion of the pressure sensitive sensor is located at a position lower than a lower end portion of the window glass.
The present invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that in the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 1, the lower end portion of the pressure sensitive sensor is curved toward the moving direction side end portion of the moving body, and the curved portion is passed through a through hole formed towards a lower end of the moving direction side end portion of the moving body to thereby be disposed within the moving body, and is connected to the connection means within the moving body.
The present invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that in the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 4, the moving body is provided with a window glass, and the lower end portion of the pressure sensitive sensor is located at a position lower than a lower end portion of the window glass.
The present invention according to claim 6 is characterized in that in the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 1, the pressure sensitive sensor comprises: a hollow cover portion elastically deformable due to an external force having a predetermined size or more, longitudinal along the vertical direction of the moving body; and a plurality of lengthy electrodes disposed within the cover portion, along the longitudinal direction of the cover portion, separated from each other in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the cover portion, and connected to each other in series, and deformed with the elastic deformation of the cover portion.
The present invention according to claim 7 is characterized in that in the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 6, the connection means is passed through the inside of the moving body, and is connected to at least two electrodes of the plurality of electrodes pulled out from a lower end portion of the cover portion, passing through a through hole formed towards a lower end of the moving direction side end portion of the moving body.
The present invention according to claim 8 is characterized in that in the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 7, the moving body is provided with a window glass, and the lower end portion of the pressure sensitive sensor is located at a position lower than a lower end portion of the window glass.
The present invention according to claim 9 is characterized in that in the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 6, the lower end portion of the cover portion is curved toward the moving direction side end portion of the moving body, and is passed through a through hole formed toward a lower end of the moving direction side end portion of the moving body, the plurality of electrodes being pulled out within the moving body, with at least two of the plurality of electrodes pulled out being connected to the connection means.
The present invention according to claim 10 is characterized in that in the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 9, the moving body is provided with a window glass, and the lower end portion of the pressure sensitive sensor is located at a position lower than a lower end portion of the window glass.
The present invention according to claim 11 is characterized in that in the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 6, the connection means is disposed along the moving direction side end portion of the moving body, in which a lower end portion of which is connected to at least two electrode wires of the plurality of electrodes pulled out from a lower end portion of the cover portion, while the other upper end portion passes through a moving direction side end portion of the moving body between the upper end portion and the lower end portion of the cover portion, the connection means being connected to the control means via the inside of the moving body.
The present invention according to claim 12 is characterized in that the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 11 includes a support means comprising: a holding portion for holding the cover portion along the moving direction side end portion of the moving body; and a support portion longitudinal along the moving direction side end portion of the moving body, provided on the opposite side of the cover portion via the holding portion, and fixed to the moving direction side end portion of the moving body, in which an accommodating portion is formed for accommodating inside thereof the connection means longitudinal along the moving direction side end portion of the moving body and having one end connected to the at least two electrodes pulled out from the lower end portion of the cover portion.
The present invention according to claim 13 is characterized in that in the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 12, the connection means is embedded in advance in the accommodating portion, and the connection means is integral with the support means.
The present invention according to claim 14 is characterized in that in the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 12, a cover is provided so as to correspond to longitudinal direction end portions of the plurality of electrodes, and covers a portion of the connection means exposed from the accommodating portion.
The present invention according to claim 15 is characterized in that in the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 12, the moving body is provided with a window glass, and the connection means is passed through the moving body at a position lower than the window glass.
The present invention according to claim 16 is characterized in that in the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 1, the connection means is disposed along the moving direction side end portion of the moving body, and one end is connected to the pressure sensitive sensor, and an upper end side passes through the moving direction side end portion of the moving body between an upper end portion and a lower end portion of the pressure sensitive sensor and is connected to the control means via the inside of the moving body.
The present invention according to claim 17 is characterized in that the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 16 includes support means comprising: a holding portion for holding the pressure sensitive sensor along the moving direction side end portion of the moving body; and a support portion longitudinal along the moving direction side end portion of the moving body, provided on the opposite side of the pressure sensitive sensor via the holding portion, and fixed to the moving direction side end portion of the moving body, in which an accommodating portion longitudinal along the moving direction side end portion of the moving body is formed for accommodating inside thereof a portion of the connection means.
The present invention according to claim 18 is characterized in that in the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 17, the connection means is provided in the accommodating portion in a buried state beforehand, the connection means being integrated with the support means.
The present invention according to claim 19 is characterized in that in the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 17, a cover is provided, so as to correspond to an end portion in the longitudinal direction of the plurality of electrodes, for covering a portion exposed from the accommodating portion of the connection means.
The present invention according to claim 20 is characterized in that in the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 16, the moving body is provided with a window glass, and the connection means is pulled out from the holding portion between a lower end portion of the support means and a lower end portion of the window glass to thereby pass through the moving body.
According to the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 1, the pressure sensitive sensor is provided at the moving direction side end portion of the moving body, and when the moving body moves for opening/closing by means of the driving force of the driving means, if there is a foreign object on the locus of opening/closing movement, the pressure sensitive sensor moving together with the moving body pushes the foreign object. The pressure sensitive sensor senses a pushing reaction force (i.e., pressure) from the foreign object at this time, making it possible to confirm that there is a foreign object on the locus of opening/closing movement of the moving body. Moreover, when the pressure sensitive sensor senses the existence of a foreign object, the control means performs the drive control of the driving means, to thereby stop the driving means or reverse-drive the driving means in the closing direction. As described above, with the present automatic opening-and-closing device, since the existence of a foreign object on the locus of opening/closing movement of the moving body is confirmed by sensing the pushing reaction force at the time when the foreign object contacts the pressure sensitive sensor, even when the moving speed of the moving body is changing, the existence of the foreign object can be confirmed, making it possible to prevent a foreign object from becoming caught by the moving body.
In the automatic opening-and-closing device, the pressure sensitive sensor is provided along the vertical direction of the moving direction side end portion of the moving body, and the connection means for connecting the pressure sensitive sensor and the control means is connected to the lower end portion of the pressure sensitive sensor. Therefore, for example, when the present automatic opening-and-closing device is used for opening and closing a door, the connected portion of the pressure sensitive sensor and the connection means is located at a position lower than that of a line of sight of a person passing at the side of the door (that is, the moving body) in an open state, and therefore, the external appearance of the door is improved.
Further, the upper half of a person""s body is wider than their feet by the amount of the width of the shoulders. Thus, if a door which was being closed were to contact the body of a person passing through at the side of the door, first, the door would contact the upper half of the person. Here, in the present automatic opening-and-closing device, the connection means is connected at the lower end portion of pressure sensitive sensor of the moving body (i.e., the door), and thus, the upper end portion of the pressure sensitive sensor can be made to approach as much as possible the upper end portion of the moving direction side end portion of the moving body. A non-sensing range of the pressure sensitive sensor at the upper end portion side of the moving direction side end portion of the moving body can be made small or eliminated. Thus, in particular, the catching of a person""s body can be effectively prevented.
With the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 2, the connection means passes through the interior portion of the moving body. Further, the connection means passes through a through hole formed at the lower end side of the moving direction side end portion of the moving body, and is connected to the pressure sensitive sensor. As a result, the portion of the connection means exposed at the exterior of the moving body can be made extremely small or can be eliminated altogether. The external appearance improves, and the connection means does not contact an obstacle while the moving body is moving, so that the occurrence of drawbacks such as disconnection or the like of the pressure sensitive sensor and the connection means can be prevented.
With the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 3, the lower end portion of the pressure sensitive sensor is located at a position lower than the lower end portion of the window glass provided at the moving body. Thus, the connection means passes beneath the window glass and is connected to the lower end portion of the pressure sensitive sensor. As a result, the window glass does not impede the work for connecting the connection means and the pressure sensitive sensor, and the connection means does not traverse the window glass.
With the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 4, in a state in which the lower end side of the pressure sensitive sensor is curved toward a through hole formed in the lower end side of the moving direction side end portion of the moving body, the lower end side of the pressure sensitive sensor passes through the through hole and is disposed within the moving body, and the pressure sensitive sensor and the connection means are connected within the moving body. In this way, by connecting the pressure sensitive sensor and the connection means within the moving body, the connected portion of the pressure sensitive sensor and the connection means is shielded by the moving body, and is not exposed at the exterior. Further, the position, at which the connected portion of the pressure sensitive sensor and the connection means is disposed with respect to the external force applied to the moving direction side end portion of the moving body, is fundamentally at the side opposite the pressure sensitive sensor with respect to the moving direction side end portion of the moving body. Thus, external force is not applied to the connected portion. Accordingly, no foreign object contacts the connection means, and disconnection or the like caused thereby can be prevented.
Incidentally, here, xe2x80x9ccurvingxe2x80x9d may be curving of the elastically deformable pressure sensitive sensor, or may be forming the pressure sensitive sensor in advance in a curved configuration (i.e., the pressure sensitive sensor may be a configuration which is already curved in a state in which no external force or the like is applied thereto). However, in a case in which the pressure sensitive sensor is elastically-deformably curved, it is necessary that the curving be at a curvature of an extent such that the pressure sensitive sensor does not sense the external force accompanying this curving or the restoring force by which the pressure sensitive sensor itself attempts to return to its original configuration.
With the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 5, the lower end portion of the pressure sensitive sensor is located at a position lower than the lower end portion of the window glass provided at the moving body. Thus, the connection means passes beneath the window glass and is connected to the lower end portion of the pressure sensitive sensor. As a result, the window glass does not impede the work for connecting the connection means and the pressure sensitive sensor, and the connection means does not traverse the window glass.
With the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 6, the plurality of elongated electrodes are disposed within the elongated outer cover portion in a state of being set apart from one another. When an external force applied to the moving direction side end portion of the moving body is applied to the outer cover portion and due to this external force the outer cover portion elastically deforms and the outer cover portion collapses, the electrodes at the interior of the outer cover portion deform together with the outer cover portion. Due to the outer cover portion elastically deforming to the extent that the outer cover portion collapses, at least two electrodes of the plurality of electrodes contact each other and short circuit. Because the plurality of electrodes are connected together in series, due to the short circuiting, the current value of the current flowing through the electrodes or the electrical resistance or the like changes. By detecting this change, it can be sensed whether an external force is applied to the outer cover portion, i.e., it can be sensed whether an external force is applied to the moving direction side end portion of the moving body.
With the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 7, the connection means is connected to at least two electrodes pulled out from the lower end portion of the outer cover portion, among the plurality of electrodes disposed within the outer cover portion. In this way, current flows from the connection means to the electrodes, and further, current flowing through the electrodes flows to the connection means.
By the way, in the present automatic opening-and-closing device, the connection means passes through the through hole formed at the lower end side of the moving direction side end portion of the moving body, and is connected to the aforementioned electrodes. As a result, the portion of the connection means which is exposed at the exterior of the moving body is extremely small or altogether non-existent. The external appearance improves, and the connection means does not contact an obstacle while the moving body is moving. Occurrence of drawbacks such as disconnection or the like of the pressure sensitive sensor and the connection means can be prevented.
With the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 8, the lower end portion of the pressure sensitive sensor is located at a position lower than the lower end portion of the window glass provided at the moving body. Thus, the connection means passes beneath the window glass and is connected to the lower end portion of the pressure sensitive sensor. As a result, the window glass does not impede the work for connecting the connection means and the pressure sensitive sensor, and the connection means does not traverse the window glass.
With the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 9, in a state in which the lower end side of the outer cover portion is curved toward a through hole formed in the lower end side of the moving direction side end portion of the moving body, the lower end side of the outer cover portion passes through the through hole and is disposed within the moving body, and within the moving body, the connection means is connected with at least two of the electrodes pulled out from the lower end portion of the outer cover portion. In this way, by connecting the connection means and the electrodes within the moving body, the connected portion of the electrodes and the connection means is shielded by the moving body, and is not exposed at the exterior. Further, the position, at which the connected portion of the electrodes and the connection means is disposed with respect to the external force applied to the moving direction side end portion of the moving body, is fundamentally at the opposite side with respect to the moving direction side end portion of the moving body. Thus, external force is not applied to the connected portion. Accordingly, no foreign object contacts the connection means, and disconnection or the like caused thereby can be prevented.
Incidentally, here, xe2x80x9ccurvingxe2x80x9d may be curving of the elastically deformable outer cover portion, or may be forming the outer cover portion in advance in a curved configuration (i.e., the outer cover portion may be a configuration which is already curved in a state in which no external force or the like is applied thereto). However, in a case in which the outer cover portion is elastically-deformably curved, it is necessary that the curving be at a curvature of an extent such that the electrodes do not contact one another due to the external force accompanying this curving or the restoring force by which the outer cover portion itself attempts to return to its original configuration.
With the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 10, since the lower end portion of the outer cover portion is located at a position lower than the lower end portion of the window glass provided on the moving body, the connection means passes beneath the window glass and is connected to the lower end portion of the pressure sensitive sensor. As a result, the window glass does not impede the work for connecting the connection means and the electrodes, and the connection means does not traverse the window glass.
With the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 11, the connection means, one end of which is connected to at least two electrodes among the electrodes which are pulled out from the lower end of the outer cover body, is extended upward along the moving direction side end portion of the moving body, passes through the moving direction side end portion of the moving body between the upper end and the lower end of the moving body, passes through the interior of the moving body, and is connected to the control means.
Here, because the connection means passes through the moving direction side end portion of the moving body and is disposed within the moving body, the portion of the connection means exposed at the exterior of the moving body is small. The external appearance improves, and the connection means does not contact an obstacle while the moving body is moving. The occurrence of drawbacks such as disconnection or the like of the pressure sensitive sensor and the connection means can be prevented.
With the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 12, one portion of the connection means, whose one end is connected to at least two electrodes of the electrodes pulled out from the lower end of the outer cover portion, is accommodated in the accommodating portion provided at the support portion of the support means and is guided to the upper end side in the longitudinal direction of the pressure sensitive sensor. Accordingly a region, other than one longitudinal direction end portion of the connection means and the portion nearest thereto, is not exposed to the exterior. Therefore, the external appearance at the sensor mounting position can be improved even more, and disconnection of the connection means due to the connection means contacting a foreign object or the like can be prevented.
Furthermore, the above-described accommodating portion is formed at the support portion of the support means (i.e., the support portion and the accommodating portion are basically the same). Therefore, it is not necessary to form a special space for disposing (i.e., training) the connection means or a special region, other than the support portion, for supporting the connection means. Thus, the pressure sensitive sensor can be made compact.
With the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 13, the connection means is embedded in advance in the accommodating portion of the support means (i.e., the connection means is embedded in advance in the support portion), and is made integral with the support portion. Thus, there is no need for a process for passing the connection means into the accommodating portion at the time the pressure sensitive sensor is mounted to the sensor mounting position, and the manufacturing cost becomes less expensive.
Incidentally, in the present invention, when the connection means is embedded into the accommodating portion, ones of longitudinal direction ends of the electrodes and the corresponding longitudinal direction ends of the connection means may be connected in advance, or may not be connected in advance.
With the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 14, the cover is provided in correspondence with the longitudinal direction end portions of the plurality of electrodes, and the cover covers the portion of the connection means which is exposed from the accommodating portion. Thus, the external appearance at the sensor mounting position can be improved even more, and contact between an exposed portion of the connection means and a foreign object can be reliably prevented, and disconnection of the connection means can be reliably prevented even more.
With the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 15, the connection means passes through the moving direction side end portion of the moving body at a position lower than the window glass provided at the moving body. Thus, the window glass does not impede the work for connecting the connection means and the pressure sensitive sensor, and further, the connection means does not traverse the window glass.
With the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 16, the connection means whose one end is connected to the lower end portion of the pressure sensitive sensor is extended upward along the moving direction side end portion of the moving body, passes through the moving direction side end portion of the moving body between the upper end and the lower end of the moving body, passes through the interior portion of the moving body, and is connected to the control means.
Here, since the connection means passes through the moving direction side end portion of the moving body and is disposed within the moving body, a portion of the connection means exposed at the exterior of the moving body becomes small, thus improving the external appearance. The connection means does not contact an obstacle during movement of the moving body, and drawbacks such as disconnection or the like of the pressure sensitive sensor and the connection means can be prevented.
With the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 17, one portion of the connection means connected to the pressure sensitive sensor is accommodated in the accommodating portion provided at the support portion of the support means and is guided to the longitudinal direction upper end side of the pressure sensitive sensor. Therefore, a region, other than one longitudinal direction end portion of the connection means and the portion closest thereto, is not exposed to the exterior. As a result, the external appearance at the sensor mounting position can be further improved, and disconnection of the connection means due to the connection means contacting a foreign object or the like can be prevented.
Furthermore, at the above-described accommodating portion, the support portion of the sensor holding member is formed (that is, the support portion and the accommodating portion are basically the same). Accordingly, there is no need for a special space for disposing (training) the connection means, nor is there a need to form at the support means a particular region, other than the support portion, for supporting the connection means. Thus, the pressure sensitive sensor can be made compact.
With the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 18, the connection means is embedded in advance in the accommodating portion of the support means (i.e., the connection means is embedded in advance in the support portion), and is made integral with the support portion. Thus, there is no need for a process for passing the connection means into the accommodating portion at the time the pressure sensitive sensor is mounted to the sensor mounting position, and the manufacturing cost becomes less expensive.
Incidentally, in the present invention, when the connection means is embedded into the accommodating portion, ones of longitudinal direction ends of the electrodes and the corresponding longitudinal direction ends of the connection means may be connected in advance, or may not be connected in advance.
With the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 19, the cover is provided in correspondence with the longitudinal direction end portions of the plurality of electrodes, and the cover covers the portion of the connection means which is exposed from the accommodating portion. Thus, the external appearance at the sensor mounting position can be improved even more, and contact between an exposed portion of the connection means and a foreign object can be reliably prevented, and disconnection of the connection means can be reliably prevented even more.
With the automatic opening-and-closing device according to claim 20, the lower end portion of the pressure sensitive sensor pulls out the connection means from the holding portion below the lower end portion of the window glass provided at the moving body, and the connection means pulled out from the holding member passes through the moving direction side end portion of the moving body, and is passed through the interior portion of the moving body below the window glass. As a result, the window glass does not impede the work for connecting the connection means and the pressure sensitive sensor, and the connection means does not traverse the window glass.